A bath lift normally has a column which in use is fixed to the floor alongside the bath, or in some cases to the side of the bath itself, a lifting arm which projects from the column and elevating mechanism by which the arm can be raised and lowered. The end of the arm remote from the column carries a patient support member which may, for example, be in the form of a legless chair. The arm swings through an arc so that, in addition to being raised and lowered above the bath, the user can be swung over the edge of the bath and also raised and lowered at the side of the bath.
It is usual to have the arm fixed to an upper portion of a telescopic column, which extends for lifting purposes with the upper portion freely rotatable about the column axis at all levels. There is thus the danger that as the user gets on to the support member the arm may swing round causing injury to the user by striking against the side of the bath, and this is particularly so when the lift is self-operated by a partially disabled user.
To overcome the above danger it has been proposed that said upper portion of the column to which the arm has been fixed should be restrained against rotation except when fully raised, in which position it is freely rotatable at least over an appropriate range of angular movement. This goes some way towards solving the problem, but it considerably complicates the telescopic column construction internally and it is often inconvenient not to be able to turn the arm except when fully raised. There are also occasions when it would be advantageous if the arm did not swing freely when fully raised.